1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communication messaging and, more particularly, to automatically initiated communication messaging.
2. Description of the Related Art
The communications industry is a fast growing industry, which answers the communication needs of people around the world. Mobile telephones, such as cellular and satellite phones, extend the reach of traditional wireline telephones, and enable users to stay in touch when they would otherwise be inaccessible. Communications carriers are also providing an increasing variety of services to their users. Messaging services (such as Short Message Service) are widely used, and are an important source of revenue for cellular carriers. In view of the growing popularity of messaging services, the availability of messaging services for other types of communication devices is also rising. However, despite the versatility of the available communications networks, no one is truly accessible at all times.
Cellular telephone users now commonly use their cellular telephones not only to call other users, but also to leave voicemail messages, and to send each other text messages. A significant amount of cellular carrier revenues now come from the transmission of Short Message Service (SMS) text messages. In view of the popularity of these services, messaging capability is becoming available for other types of telephones, such as Voice over IP (VoIP) telephones. The range of services provided by communications carriers is expected to increase. Multimedia messaging services (MMS), which expand SMS messaging beyond text to include multimedia content, will soon be widely available. Every additional service that is offered by a communications carrier improves its ability to attract clients and to compete with other carriers. Cellular communication carriers expect that additional services will increase the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), mainly because of increased airtime, which is the billable duration of the conversation.
Telephone communications carriers routinely provide Voicemail services. Each voicemail-enabled user has an individual voicemail box on a central server. If a call recipient is unavailable to receive an incoming call, a prerecorded greeting is played to the caller. The caller is then able to record a voice message, which is stored in the recipient's voicemail box for access by the recipient at a later time. Voicemail is an important service for both the caller and the recipient. The caller is not obligated to call the same individual repeatedly. The recipient does not miss incoming calls, even when talking to a different individual or when the telephone is disconnected.
Voicemail has several disadvantages. Voicemail services can be cumbersome, as users may be required to listen to lengthy messages and to navigate through various menus in order to send or receive voice messages. The user also pays for airtime while utilizing voicemail services. For these reasons, callers often elect to end the connection rather than leave a voicemail message.
Cellular telephone messaging services, such as SMS and MMS, provide callers with alternative ways of communicating with other users without speaking to them directly. SMS is a transmission service for transmitting short text messages to wireless devices. A SMS message consists of a short text message, up to 160 alphanumeric characters in length. Non-text based short messages (for example, in binary format) are also supported, and are used, for example, for downloading ringtones and for logo services.
The Short Message Service features confirmation of message delivery. Thus, unlike paging, senders of SMS messages can receive a return message notifying them whether the short message has been delivered or not.
The Short Message Service is a store and forward service. SMS messages are not sent directly from sender to recipient, but via a Short Message Service Center (SMSC) that stores each message until the message can be delivered to the appropriate mobile device. If the subscriber is inactive, the SMSC holds the message for a period of time, and delivers the messages when the subscriber accesses the network. Sending SMS messages has become popular with callers, both for providing a new message format (text rather than voice), and because SMS messages are relatively inexpensive to send.
Two new messaging formats, EMS (Enhanced Message Service) and MMS (Multimedia Message Service), are now emerging. EMS adds text formatting, black-and-white images and simple sounds to the unformatted text that SMS supports. Wireless service providers that offer SMS can add EMS with relatively simple upgrades to their network infrastructure.
In comparison with SMS and EMS, MMS provides users with significantly extended messaging capabilities. MMS messages may contain still images, text, audio and video clips, and presentation information, in addition to text. The presentation information defines the way the message content is presented to the user, for example the order in which still images are displayed. An MMS message is displayed to the recipient as a multimedia presentation. The recipient does not need to manually select and open data attached to a message. Like SMS, MMS provides confirmation of message delivery.
MMS messages are not transmitted directly from the caller to the recipient, but are forwarded via a Multimedia Service Center (MMSC) that performs a function analogous to the SMSC. However, the process for MMS transmission to the recipient is different.
When a sender sends an MMS message to a recipient, the message is first sent to the MMSC. The MMSC sends confirmation to the sender that the message was sent. The MMSC then sends the receiver a notification that a new message is waiting. The receiver can download the message immediately or at a later time. Once the message is successfully downloaded, the receiver is notified that the message was received, and the sender is notified that the message was delivered.
SMS and MMS messaging provide cellular clients with attractive alternatives to voicemail. SMS messages are short text messages that are inexpensive for the user, and are quickly transferred to the server over the signaling path. Additionally, once delivered, SMS messages are stored on the cellular device. Commonly, an indicator appears on the cellular device notifying the user that an SMS message has been received. The recipient is therefore more likely to view the message. Further information about messaging services can be found at http://www.mobilesms.com/, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. MMS messaging enables callers to send more elaborate messages, containing a variety of media.
Despite these advantages, SMS and MMS are currently an inconvenient way for a caller to communicate with an unavailable call recipient. If the caller attempts to place a regular call and the recipient does not answer, and the caller wishes to leave an SMS or MMS message, the caller must first hang up, and then manually access the SMS or MMS function on his or her telephone. Accessing a message function on a cellular device often requires navigating through various menus on the device. The message and the target address must be manually input into the device and then transmitted. Confronted by this option, most callers currently prefer to end the call or to leave a voice message and suffer its inconveniences.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, user-friendly messaging to an unavailable call recipient devoid of the above limitations.